Top 3 Thursday - Restaurants

TOP 3 RESTAURANTS

This week's top 3 is restaurants.  I know I have been in lots and lots of good restaurants, but I guess because I've been in Jackson for so long, I can only think of Jackson restaurants.  There are a lot of not good things about Jackson, MS, but one good thing is that it has some amazing places to eat!  Because I live and go to school in downtown Jackson, I've had the opportunity to really explore the hole-in-the-wall spots that have been around for decades and have their specialties more than mastered.  So, all three of my Top 3 come from the "City with Soul."

3.  Amerigo

Everyone has their favorite Italian restaurants.  If you're from Troy and you're asked about Italian, you're most likely going to say something like Olive Garden.  No.  Amerigo is amazing Italian food.  It's the real deal.  It is a chain, however, with about 5 restaurants - the other four are all in Tennessee, I believe.  Amerigo is one of "the" date places for our area.  The atmosphere is super classy, yet simple.  The food is beyond delicious.  The servers and staff are all incredibly friendly.  I love it because you can go at lunch in blue jeans or business casual and enjoy lunch portions of their tasty food beside attorneys, politicians, and judges.  Then, you can dress up in almost cocktail attire for a super nice, romantic (if you have someone to go to a romantic dinner with) dinner.  Amerigo is definitely a must if you come to Jackson.

2.  Pizza Shack

The Pizza Shack is only two blocks from my house and if you have been to Jackson to visit me, I've taken you here.  This place has THE best pizza I have EVER had - even better than pizza I've gotten in Italy.  It is definitely a hole-in-the-wall but it is on a very highly travelled road so it gets good business.  You can kind of see in the right of the picture the patio.  It is so much fun to go here for lunch or an early dinner and sit out there under the umbrellas and enjoy some greasy pizza and some sunshine. 

The place is super simple.  You eat on plastic, red checkered table cloths with paper towels and styrofoam plates and cups.  I LOVE it.  The food is SO delicious, it is worth the 15 pounds you gain from eating there!

1.  CS's

Please tell me that if you were driving around looking for somewhere to eat lunch, you wouldn't immediately pull over when you saw this place!  I know this place doesn't look like much, but oh my goodness, you'll never eat a better cheeseburger in all your days.  CS's has been in this exact same spot since the 1960s.  They have NEVER done ANY renovations.  LOVE it.  I wish I could give you a virtual tour of this place.  You walk in the door and are immediately on top of tons and tons of tables.  You seat yourself because the place has 1 waitress, 1 checkout guy who also works as "cook", and then 2 kitchen people.  The waitress, Ms. Inez, has been there for something like 23 years.  The top of the walls are lined with EVERY type of beer can you can imagine - all years old.  The rest of the walls are covered with bumper stickers, calendar pages, invitations to private parties hosted at CS's, school posters, etc.  It's amazing.

The menu is a piece of grease-stained paper that is passed around from table to table.  They are known for their burgers and have one Jackson Free Press awards for "Best Burgers in Town" an unprecedented number of times.  One of the burgers, the Inez, named after Mrs. Inez herself, is covered in chili, cheddar cheese, and jalepeno peppers.  But, no worries, if you don't want to eat 4000 calories at lunch, they have their low-carb plates which are DELICIOUS.  CS's also has a choice of 2 blue plate lunch specials which are just as good.  The best thing about CS's - just like it has not done any renovations since the 60s, it hasn't raised its prices much, either.  You can enjoy your entire lunch for less than $6 and be full for the rest of the day!  But, remember, CS's makes so much money at lunch, it is only open from 11 am to 2 pm, so don't miss out!

**By the way, I swear I like healthy places, too.  I don't eat junk food all the time!**